Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe there are any plans for legislation in that regard but I will check with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We need to take a more rounded approach to housing in general. Rather than banning different types of housing or housing investment, we need all sorts of housing and lots more of it, whether it is social housing for people on the housing list, cost rental or private homes for people to buy. We need more housing of all types in Ireland. The solution is not to try to ban types of housing or housing investment. While it might be the case there are too many of these investment funds and they are too active in the market in Dublin, it does not mean there is no place for them at all. It is not that these apartments are empty. I know people who live in apartments managed by companies such as Kennedy Wilson in places like Islandbridge. They do a good job, people rent there, and they have a home as a result of that. I do not think we should be so ideological and absolute about this. This should never be about banning types of housing or housing investment. We need lots more housing of all types and we need both public and private investment.

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